The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1887-12-15

srs'ght across the river - the swift
current would allow, zeb dropped the
jugs overheard some ten feet apart.
When our jugs were all deployed We
took up our position in the rear and
centre Of our skirmish-li line Of stone
ware bobs, and drifted with the current
down stream.
Presently skirmisher number two, on
the left Of the line, commenced acting in
q most peculiar snd unsoldier.like man
ner; after bobbing Ms head under water,
first on one side and then on the other,
and taking one or two preliminary and
undignified summersaults, he started on
the double quick in . straight line up
stream. When we had headed the skiff
to our rear in pursuit Of the runaway, I
was astonished to find that this proven
bially lazy darky, whose own brother
described as ''too lazy to turn over in his
Sleep" was not only an enthusiastic and
energetic fisherman, but with his splendid
physique and long arms he pulled .
stroke to gladden. the heart Of any college
crew. After lively chase we captured
the animated jug and found its motive
power to have been'a twelve-pound cat
fish,. As soon as we could get our "jug
and cat" safely aboard we hurried back
to the sskirmish line again to find that
another Jug had deserted, skedaddled and
disappeared entirely.
II golly, guess dat ar jug must dun got
q whale on dis year time foh suah," re-
marked Zeb, as we rested on our oars and
scanned the rivers surface for the lost
jug. "Dah hel' he added, pointing out
our missing float, as 1t came bobbing up
serenely some ten rods ahead of our line
Of battle; we pulled pretty lively for it,
but before we reached the spot 1t had
again disappeared. I asked Zeb II he
didn't think it probable that we had
caught an alligator on that jug. "The
Lawd, dere must be sunfin big on dat ar
hook; but whatever it war, we hadent
dun cotched 1t yet"
The next time our skirmisher Appeared
we came up to It, Zeb unshipped his oars
and bent over the side of the boat, but be.
fore he could reach 1t down went the jug
and poked 1t, trying to catch the string
on my oar as 1t passed under our skiff.
"Look here, you black bunch oi
bones the next time that Jug comes to
the top of the water you hang on to your
oars, and ~ do the catching"
The chase was becoming exciting and
was catching the juggling mania, II
nothing else. Whatever 1t was on that
hook was getting tired for the jug bobbed
up almost Immediately not far from US
Zeb pulled, I hastily unshipped my oars
rolled up my shirt sleeve, got good griT
on the gunwale and leaned out to GRASP
the jugs handle as we passed; 1t was Z
pretty long reach, but I caught It; the
jerk was awful sudden and good dea
heavier than I expected. Whether thu
"black bunch of bones" retaliated BY
backing his oars just at that minute
don't know, but I do know that there
was big whir in the water and over
board went, heels over head, into tn,
muddy Mississippi. In doing so ]
must have performed an evolution simi
lar to what boys in my day used to cal
"skinning the cat" for somehow man
aged to hang ON to both the gunwale ant
the Jug handle. did not quite upse
the skifi. but came near enough to it II
brighten poor Zeb pretty badly, for, as
afterward learned, he did not know how
to swim.
After considerable splash, splutter ant
excitement Zeb got q hitch on the jul
line and helped me into the boat; thel
we together landed thirty-pound cat
fish. This was enough for US both 70
one mornings work; and by the tim
@4,